Nine Inch Nails
August 5, 2008
Air Canada Centre


2008 has been a great year for 90’s music fans. With reunions from Stone Temple Pilots and The Verve and big tours by Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, it seems like all the bands we grew up with know we want them back. Not that NIN went anywhere, in the past few years Trent Reznor and co. have kept touring and releasing albums on a regular basis and not only have kept themselves in the public eye, but completely relevant as well. And with the return of guitarist Robin Finck the potential for the ACC concert was huge. With their most recent album, The Slip, now in a limited run in stores, trying to figure out what songs would be played was a game that everyone seemed to be participating in.

From the second NIN hit the stage it was obvious it would be a great night. Reznor and Finck both blew up the stage, as did bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen, keyboardist Alessandro Cortini and drummer Josh Freese. Opening with “999.999,” and “1,000,000,” both off The Slip, the band make it clear from the start that they weren’t stuck in the heyday of their past but moving forward into a more modern sound. The energy within the band started off fast and frenetic and didn’t wane all that much throughout the entire set. Even during the slower, instrumental ‘Ghost’ songs, they didn’t seem to slow down all that much. Reznor himself seems completely incapable of not moving for a single second, even if he’s just tapping his foot.

“March Of The Pigs,” got a massive reaction and was almost better received than the bands biggest hit “Closer.” But it was the aforementioned ‘Ghost’s section that made the concert as great as it was. If all bands put the amount of effort into sets, lighting, special effects and basically every possible detail you could think of, concerts would be selling out a lot faster. The effects during this mini set are nearly impossible to describe. With a stage size screen that the band rotated from in front of to behind, each song had a graphic ‘video’ so that even if you didn’t like or know the song, you had something fantastic to look at. Whether it was a desert background or flashing lights or a heat sensitive panel that changed as Trent moved across it, it didn’t matter, it just grabbed your attention the entire time. Though the songs weren’t all that well known to some, no one moved from their spot.

Following up the slower part of the set, which had included a massive wooden xylophone, was the faster, older stuff. “Wish” and “Terrible Lie” were crowd faves as were “Only,” “Head Like A Hole” and the set closer “Echoplex.” The only thing that seemed to be missing was some kind of interaction between the band members. With the exception of Reznor and Finck, everyone pretty much stayed in their respective corners. But with the amount of talent (and bad hair) you almost didn’t notice. During the concert Reznor changed from a red shirt to a black t-shirt, of which I’m sure he’s had thousands over the years, and proved that once you’re a great frontman it’s not hard to stay that way. Roughly 20 years into his career he’s able to captivate the crowd by doing nothing more than standing in front of a mic and singing in his angsty, tortured style.

With a completely mixed set that included songs from the band’s entire catalogue, the encore was no different, though it was surprising. Consisting of mainly newer songs, it was “Hurt” that was the song of the night. Though some may be sick of it, it was apparent that most of the audience had been waiting for it and sang along at the top of their lungs to the point where it echoed. Saying it was one of the best concerts of the year wouldn’t be an understatement and it’s because Trent Reznor’s still at the top of his game that the band was able to pull it off that well. If NIN concerts stay this good, they’ll be at the top for years to come.

Set List:

999,999
1,000,000
Letting You
Discipline
March Of The Pigs
Head Down
The Frail
Closer
Gave Up
The Warning
Vessel
Ghosts 5
Ghosts 6
Ghosts 19
Ghosts/Piggy
The Greater Good
Pinion
Wish
Terrible Lie
Survivalism
The Big Come Down
Ghosts 31
Only
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Echoplex

Encore:

God Given
The Good Soldier
Hurt
In This Twilight

- Alyssa Caplin

Photo by Ryan O'Shaughnessy

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